A New Dawn
by Puppets Blizzt
Summary: A prophecy was foretold by StarClan many moons ago, but it was never fulfilled. "Beware the enemy who sleeps with stone, for his heart is too dark to see the Stars. Light is the only hope." The time is now. Dusk is coming; only dawn can bring the light.


_**title tentative. **_

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own Warriors. The idea of Warriors belongs to Erin Hunter and all other affiliates. However, any and all plots and characters used are mine unless otherwise stated.

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The loud whirring sound of a machine split the night. Birds escaped the trees and fled into the night. Squirrels scrambled across the terrain, throwing dead leaves in their wake. Rabbits and mice and other forest prey all fled from the source of the noise. But a small group of cats was heading straight for it. They kept low to the ground, their underbelly lightly brushing against the fallen leaves. Their paws cracked dainty twigs, but they didn't care. There was no need to be stealthy now—not anymore. They travelled deeper into enemy land, but their senses were anything but alert. Their eyes were round with fear; their fur shot from their pelts. At the head of the group was a ginger tomcat, his green eyes narrowed with determination and fear. He flicked his tail as they neared the Clan's camp, signaling for his patrol to stop. Then, he turned to face them, speaking softly but with great urgency. They nodded solemnly at his words and uttered no words of protest.

This was not a rescue mission. They were not to endanger themselves. They were not to fight the machine.

But the machine stopped. Life escaped its lips and the forest was silent once more. The ginger cat pricked his ears in surprise and turned, leading his clanmates towards the camp. Footsteps hammered the forest floor and he froze in his tracks, watching the shadows of twolegs cross just foxlengths ahead. They spoke to each other, but the words were unintelligible. Once he was sure they were gone, he flicked his tail as a silent order to continue. The group pushed on, growing more nervous by the second. Fear scent—not their own—flooded their senses.

Quietly, their leader led them into the camp. He was no longer wary or afraid. He stood tall, surveying the area with a defeated gaze. Blood splattered the clearing. Broken figures were strewn all across the camp—cats. He nosed one closest to him. Dead. He trotted further into the camp and found another. Dead. All around his patrol, MossClan cats were joining StarClan. He turned towards his patrol.

"Search for survivors," he spoke hollowly. The cats murmured their obedience and padded slowly away. He located a pale she-cat and arrived at her side as fast as lightning. He licked her ear and stood back, looking for any signs of life. For several long moments, there was nothing. Finally, the she-cat groaned. Her voice was soft and weak, and it seemed as thought StarClan had allowed her return for a final word of farewell.

"Redstar," she croaked. "We should have listened…"

He looked up in surprise, shaking his head furiously. "Save your energy, Dawnstar. We'll take you to Poppyleaf."

"It's too late for that, Redstar," she argued, "be silent. I have a message… from StarClan."

"You're dying, and they're using you as a messenger?" he asked incredulously, bristling with anger.

"_Redstar_," she repeated, "please."

He fell silent as she spoke, bowing his head as he listened to the fallen leader.

"The forest isn't safe. BriarClan has to leave if they want to survive. But you know this. You tried to warn me, and I refused. We should have left the forest moons ago. None of this would have happened. _Red and Gray will shine with blood; White will purify the land._"

"This isn't your fault, Dawnstar," he shook his head, voice firm. "Don't blame this on yourself. And what do you mean 'red and gray will shine with blood and white will purify the land'?"

She ignored his question. "Are there any survivors?" He said nothing, and she had her answer. "I'm so sorry."

But she wasn't speaking to him anymore. Her eyes, narrowed because she was so weak, were trained on the sky above her. The stars were dim; her ancestors were grieving the end of MossClan, welcoming new warriors into their ranks. After a final sigh, she was gone.

Redstar sat down beside her and curled his tail over his paws. When his clanmates returned to him, they were alone. There were no survivors of MossClan. No cats had escaped the jaws of the twoleg contraption. He gathered his clanmates around Dawnstar with a sweep of his tail, and, together, the small patrol of BriarClan sat vigil for the fallen Clan.

As dawn approached, Redstar rose to his paws. His clanmates had been faithful in their vigil, for not one showed any signs of sleep.

"We must go home," he told them. "And then we must leave the forest."

He led them home. Birds had returned to the woods, and his clanmates sprang at any chance for prey. When they returned to camp, their jaws were heavy with prey for the Clan. The fresh-kill pile now replenished, Redstar climbed to the top of a massive gray rock. His voice shattered the morning silence.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath Tall Rock for a Clan meeting!"

Cats milled from their dens. A group of apprentices looked up in surprise and excitement. Redstar laughed to himself, knowing full well that this was not a warrior ceremony. He waited for his Clan to join him in the clearing and dipped his head to his deputy as she padded to the base of Tall Rock.

"Last night, I led a patrol to MossClan. There were twolegs at their camp, and they had large metal beasts with them. We knew they were in danger. Before we could try and assist them, the twolegs disappeared. As you know, StarClan came to Poppyleaf with an omen many moons ago. Their message was cryptic: beasts will destroy the forest. We did not know what the beasts were until we saw MossClan's camp. Their camp is destroyed. There were no survivors."

Murmurs of shock rippled through the crowd, and fear-filled eyes were locked desperately on their leader.

"I spoke with Dawnstar before she died. BriarClan must leave the forest if we wish to survive. We have restocked the fresh-kill pile. This will be our last meal here. Then, we must leave."

Fear gripped the Clan. For a while, no one spoke.

"Where will we go?" asked Jaynose—a frail elder—from the outskirts of the crowd.

"You're staying here," spoke a large gray tom, "you're not fit enough for travel."

Jaynose bristled angrily, "How dare you—"

"Enough," Redstar snarled. "We cannot start arguing amongst ourselves. Whiteflower, Poppyleaf, and I will discuss travel arrangements. Until then, Graytalon, I don't want to hear anything more from you unless it's an apology." Graytalon dipped his head in apology, muttering words of anger under his breath.

Redstar ignored this as he continued. "Eat well. I hope to leave by sunhigh." He signaled the end of the meeting with a flick of his tail and almost at once, the clearing was in uproar.

He watched as the Clan separated into smaller groups and listened attentively for any signs of rebellion. When he was certain everyone was reasonably calm, he joined his deputy, Whiteflower, at the base of Tall Rock. Poppyleaf joined them moments later.

"I don't have enough travelling herbs for the entire Clan," Poppyleaf meowed as soon as she approached.

"Give priority to queens and apprentices. The warriors should be able to keep their strength."

"And the elders?" she inquired.

Redstar bowed his head. "I don't know."

"Redstar, we can't—" Whiteflower started, but he cut her off immediately.

"I know we can't leave them behind. But surely we shouldn't waste travelling herbs on them when our warriors need them more?" The three cats were silent. "We give priority to queens and apprentices," he decided. There was no room to argue, and Whiteflower nodded in reluctant agreement.

"The queens will need help with the kits. And it'd be wise to bring herbs with us," Whiteflower pointed out.

"The apprentices can help with the kits and the herbs. Half will carry kits and the other half will assist Poppyleaf."

"We don't have enough apprentices to carry all the kits," Whiteflower informed.

"Then the queens will have to help!" Redstar snapped.

Whiteflower realized he was under pressure and she dipped her head apologetically. "I'm sorry, Redstar. But there's a lot to decide in a short amount of time."

"I know," he nodded, "go and round up the apprentices. Send half of them to Poppyleaf so they can help with herbs. We'll figure out the rest as we go."

Whiteflower bowed her head in respect and left.

"Redstar… did StarClan really tell us to leave the forest?" Poppyleaf asked worriedly.

"Yes."

"StarClan came to me again, Redstar. _B__eware the enemy who sleeps with stone, for__ his heart is too dark to see the Stars. Light is the only hope." _

"What does it mean?" he asked worriedly.

"I don't know." Without another word, Poppyleaf padded away to her den. Shortly after, a small group of apprentices joined her.

Redstar watched as his Clan prepared. StarClan's prophecy rang in his ears, and he knew that trouble was only just beginning. He shook it from his thoughts, however; there was no time to dwell on the words now. Apprentices milled around the clearing administering herbs to the queens and eating some themselves. What was left of the traveling herbs went to the strongest elders and the weakest warriors.

Several of the elders—the older ones—opted to stay behind. They decided to become kittypets, and though such notions were usually despised and discouraged, Redstar and several warriors escorted them to Twolegplace. The elders who chose to make the journey were younger and stronger. With help from the rest of the Clan, Redstar had hope the elders would survive.

Just as planned, the Clan had left the forest by sunhigh.

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**PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: **This is a prologue. It has virtually no connection to the rest of the story other than to serve as a background and give insight to the prophecy. The story will have none of the characters mentioned above. They are ancient history. Literally.


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